3.20.2012

While that PB chocolately goodness slow cooks, I whipped up a batch of these S'mores bars which look divine! They just came out of the oven and I CAN'T wait to try them out! I used chocolate chips and regular marshmallows rather than the Hershey bars and marshmallow fluff, and also ran out of eggs so I used some apple sauce instead. We shall see how my variations worked {or didn't!}

Now I am off to do a wedding trial, hope you all get a chance to bake something tasty today too!

3.16.2012

"In my opinion the best thing you can you do is find a person who loves you for exactly what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you, the right person will still think the sun shines out of your ass. That’s the kind of person that’s worth sticking with."

Want some Friday filler? How about a phone dump of my recent bridal trials? Whenever a bride books her wedding hair and makeup with me, I make sure to set up a trial run prior to the wedding with her. I snap photos of my work to keep a record of what I did, because my recollection memory is terrible.

3.15.2012

Wild mustard flower season is upon the Silicon Valley, and nearly every field, median, and patch of undisturbed dirt is exploding with the gorgeous and delicate, though profuse, yellow flowers. I am a sucker for these hearty plants. I get extremely wistful anytime I drive past a field bursting with color from these flowers. I think wild mustard just heralds spring.

A few weeks ago, I happened to drive by a lively field that was completely covered in wild mustard, and I knew I had to pull together a photo shoot ASAP to take advantage of the natural beauty there. I arranged with one of my besties, Tiffany, to come out and play photo shoot with me last week. I did her hair and makeup, advised her clothing choices, and shot the photos on my Olympus Pen EPL1 camera, and did a tiny bit of tweaking in Picasa and Picnik. Nothing professional about it, just me, a decent camera, a pretty girl, and a gorgeous field of wildflowers. Take a look!

A ladybug joined our shoot early on, so we let it play for a second.

Don't these fence rail photos look like something off of a country album cover? I mean, that back shot could be the next Carrie Underwood cover for "Fence rails and pony tails" or something!

We totally incorporated a random guy's dog into the shoot. Cody wasn't super cooperative, but we got a few quick shots before he begged to be reunited with his owner.

This is definitely one of my favorites. Sometimes you direct a model into poses that really don't work, and others make you gasp. Love it.

3.14.2012

I love a good series. Even better, I love a strong female protagonist that I can really root for. Enter The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and our heroine Katniss Everdeen. I will spare you a rundown of the series, since most of you have at least heard of it, let alone devoured the books like I did. In case you just popped out from under your rock, click this link for the Wikipedia entry giving you the basics. It's a fantastic series that is making it's way to film adaptation next week.

I mentioned previously that I've got my tickets to the midnight release, in IMAX no less. I will be going with a wonderful group of people who all loved the series, and because I geek out over books and dressing up, I have bought this cute thermal hoodie to wear! Thank you Etsy, and Dream Design Shop for being the first thing I clicked on, and the shop with the best top that completely sold me.

I plan on doing up the hair and makeup big time, because that's my job. Also because I just love playing dress up. I think I will go for an Effie Trinket look, complete with piled high curls, white face, and fanciful makeup colors. I get to be very creative, I can't wait! I'm thinking a practice round is in order, to figure out just how to achieve the look I want. I will definitely post photos after the premiere!

3.13.2012

Billy and I had the distinct pleasure to see a traveling Cirque Du Soleil show last week. This show is called Totem, and is the story of the evolution of man.

Confession: I had never seen a Cirque show before this. I have always wanted to while visiting Las Vegas, and the traveling show comes to San Jose at least once a year, so I have had the option, just never exercised it. And tickets are expensive! Thankfully I have connections. Always treat your babysitting clients with the utmost respect and love, you never know when they will call you up randomly and instead of asking you watch their kid, will tell you they scored you tickets. Helps if they are radio DJs and have their own connections!

I was the ultimate audience reactor. I ooohed and aahed, gasped in disbelief, and clapped in delight the entire show. If watching a Cirque show doesn't give you mad muscle envy, I don't know what will. All of the performers are in incredible shape, and are capable of amazing displays of strength and agility.

My favorite acts were the trapeze performers and the roller skating duo. Ah-mazing.

Also, at many points through the show, the Crystal Man drops from the ceiling in a dazzling display of light and acrobatic beauty. He comes down first to give the spark of life to the turtle, and then closes the show by diving into a lagoon. His costume had me the most fascinated, as any glittery, shiny object often does :)

If Totem stops near you, go see it!! Such a beautiful show with such unique costuming, amazing acts, and brilliant music, it's bound to leave you awestruck also!

3.07.2012

Have you guys seen this? Levis is offering jeans for all sorts of shapes now. It's called their Curve ID fit finder, and you can answer a few questions about your shape and find what fit is best for you. Depending on how I look at my waist to hip ratio, I could be a demi curve or a bold curve. I'd have to go try on a few pairs of jeans in that fit to tell you which works best. Have any of you tried one of the new fits? If so, what do you think?

I did happen to pick me up a pair of Kardashian Kollection Kim jeans from Sears on a trip to the mall last week. I don't remember the last time I bought anything from Sears, but this trip provided me jeans, a top and workout shorts! The Kim jeans fit really well if you have athletic {read: larger} thighs and a smaller hip/waist area. The Kim jean is a straight leg, Kourtney is a skinny leg, and Khloe is a high waisted bootcut.

2} PINTEREST!

Pinterest has been a total game changer for my cooking lately. I've been stockpiling delicious looking recipes that I am so keen to try. I'm slowly working my way through my baking and recipes boards, much to Billy's delight. I am especially grateful to all you bloggers who pin these tasty treats for me to repin, so thanks a bunch!

Last night I made Hellman's Parmesan chicken, and it was so delicious! I served it with a side of broccoli sauteed in olive oil with garlic and red pepper flakes, yum! For all of you mayo-phobes, it's not bad, trust me. There is no slippery slimy mayo texture or taste, it absorbs the Parmesan cheese and the breadcrumbs make it a crunchy topping instead.

I followed the yummy chicken with a Coke Zero Cake. Boxed chocolate cake mix, 1 can diet carbonated cola, bake as directed and blamo, awesome cake. I've also used a lemon cake mix and diet 7-up and gotten just as wonderful and refreshing of results. I'm telling you, this is my new go-to when I'm making a boxed cake!! Saves calories without sacrificing flavor or moisture.

Last week I made the baked creamy chicken taquitos, a serious high note. These could be adjusted to fit whatever you have on hand, as I used leftover shredded crock pot balsamic chicken.

Then came the chicken and quinoa casserole, which I liked but Billy did not. He's not a fan of peas or broccoli, both of which are in this dish.

I made up for that miss {to B} with the cream cheese pull apart bread, which I blogged about here. Billy did in fact save me a piece, which I had for breakfast, and oh my word, it was fabulous! Everyone at game night really liked the dessert and Billy got multiple offers to take me off his hands, hah!

I've also made the no bake energy balls, which both Billy and I loved, maybe a little too much, as I couldn't stop eating them, and that's a problem!

Around Valentine's day, I made the brownie Oreo cookie bars that are sinful and should never come into my house because of the calories and the tastiness. This would be great to make this week, as it was Oreo's 100th birthday on Tuesday! That reminds me, I need to buy a package of birthday cake Oreos, I hear they're fantastic.

I think all in all, Pinterest has been a good bet when I need a recipe for dinner or dessert. What have you been making off Pinterest lately?

3.02.2012

Right now, this baby is baking in my oven, creating the most decadent smell imaginable. Need an idea of the sumptuous smell? Just imagine lots of butter and cinnamon and sugar. Heated up. And add some dough for good measure and yummy yeasty smells. Got it? Good. Oh, cream cheese pull apart bread, you little devil!

Thanks to Pinterest, this beauty was pinned in my baking board, and incited a near riot the other night when I stumbled across it. Thanks a lot, Rachel Dillard. I had the ingredients on my grocery list faster than you could say yummy. What's not to love?

The truest form of shown love {from me, obviously it's different for everyone} is making a baked goody, that I don't eat. Oh, I would totally scarf this down in a heartbeat, so it's not like I'm baking something I don't like. It's actually me baking a delicious treat I won't get to indulge in myself.

You see, I am babysitting tonight. However, Billy and I were also invited to a dinner and board games night at a friend's house, and the custom is to bring a treat to share with the group. Billy decided to go on his own, and I knew I had to send this with him. It was predestined from the time I pinned the recipe, I swear it. I have no illusions that there will be a single slice saved for me, and I humbly make this sacrifice to send something "nommy" with Billy in my absence. Maybe we will be invited again, soon, after they enjoy this yummy cream cheese pull apart bread. This is my hope. And I will be making the recipe another time, when I can enjoy it myself. Now go, bake yourself a pull apart bread too! All of the photos are courtesy of Pip & Ebby, and the recipe can be found at that link.